Ex-Mo. Priest Convicted on Sex Charges

Published 3:01 pm, Monday, April 25, 2016

A defrocked Roman Catholic priest was convicted Thursday of exposing himself to three boys while serving as an elementary school counselor.

James Beine, 61, was found guilty of four felony counts of sexual misconduct involving a child. Jurors recommended four years in prison on each count; sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 28.

Beine earlier this month was sentenced to four years and nine months in federal prison on charges he possessed child pornography.

Beine was dismissed from the priesthood in 1977. In the mid-1990s, the Archdiocese of St. Louis paid $110,000 to settle two lawsuits that alleged Beine sexually abused boys more than 30 years earlier.

Ed Postawko, an assistant prosecutor, told jurors in closing arguments that Beine exposed himself to the elementary school boys for "perverse pleasure."

Beine's attorney, James Martin, had argued his client should be acquitted, given inconsistencies in the boys' statements.

Meanwhile, two former priests were arrested Thursday in California for allegedly molesting children. One was accused of molesting two girls in the 1960s. The other allegedly molested five children between 1977 and 1986.

A third California priest, now retired, was ordered to stand trial on four counts of lewd acts with a child.